Birds of North America: Ground / Game

GALLIFORMES of North America

Galliformes are heavy-bodied ground-feeding domestic or game birds. Most are plump-bodied with thick necks and moderately long legs, and have rounded and rather short wings. They do not fly well if at all, but walk and run instead for transportation. These birds vary greatly in size from 12-120 cm. Many adult males have one to several sharp horny spurs on the back of each leg, which they use for fighting. They can be found worldwide and in a variety of habitats, including forests, deserts, and meadows. Male courtship behavior includes elaborate visual displays of plumage. Gallinaceous birds feed on a variety of plant and animal material, which may include fruits, seeds, leaves, shoots, flowers, tubers, roots, insects, snails, worms, lizards, snakes, small rodents, and eggs. [abstracted from Wikipedia]

Grouse

Order Galliformes Family Phasianidae Subfamily Tetraoninae

Some consider grouse as a family Tetraonidae,

Grouse inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere. They are heavily built like other Galliformes and range from 31-95 cm. Their legs are feathered to the toes, and in winter the toes too have feathers or small scales on the sides, an adaptation for walking on snow and burrowing into it for shelter. Unlike other Galliformes, they have no spurs. All grouse spend most of their time on the ground, though when alarmed, they may take off in a flurry and go into a long glide. These birds feed mainly on vegetation—buds, catkins, leaves, and twigs. Several of the forest-living species are notable for eating large quantities of conifer needles, which most other vertebrates refuse.

Genus Bonasa

Grouse, Ruffed Bonasa umbellus Found: North America
Photographed by: 1, 2) Alan D Wilson on Horsefly Peninsula, Quesnel Lake, British Columbia

Genus Centrocercus

Grouse, Greater Sage- aka Sage Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus Found: North America
Photographed by: 1, 2, 3) Alan D Wilson near Ten Sleep, Wyoming 4) Charlie Westerinen - Ruby Marsh in Nevada.
1, 2) Male 3, 4) female

Grouse, Gunnison Sage- Centrocercus minimus Found: North America
Photographed by: 1) US Dept. of Interior 2) Bryant Olsen - Utah

Genus Dendragapus
Dusky Grouse and Sooty Grouse were formerly considered one species, the Blue Grouse.

Grouse, Dusky Dendragapus obscurus Found: Rocky Mountains of North America
Photographed by: 1) USNPS 2) Alan D. Wilson - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming 3) S. King, USNPS

Grouse, Sooty Dendragapus fuliginosus Found: Pacific Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevadas of North America
Photographed by: 1, 2, 4) Walter Siegmund 3) Yathin
1, 2) Male 3, 4) Female

Genus Falcipennis

Grouse, Spruce Falcipennis canadensis Found: North America
Photographed by: 1, 2) Dick - Maine 3) Dick 4) Dick - Alaska

Genus Tympanuchus

Grouse, Sharp-tailed Tympanuchus phasianellus Found: North America
Photographed by: Alan D. Wilson - Custer State Park, South Dakota
4) Female

Prairie-Chicken, Lesser Tympanuchus pallidicinctus Found: North America
Photographed by: 1) Dominic Sherony

PTARMIGAN

Family Phasianidae, subfamily Tetraonidae

Ptarmigans belong to genus Lagopus. There are three species: the rock, white-tailed, and willow ptarmigans. The red ptarmigan was once considered a seperate species, but now is considered a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan. All of the species are circumpolar. Part or all of their plumage becomes white in the snow season to provide camouflage. As with game birds in general, most of the care of the young is done by the females.

Genus Lagopus

Ptarmigan, Rock Lagopus muta Found: North America, Europe
Photographed by: 1) Jan Frode Haugseth - Norway 2, 3) Alpsdake
1) Spring plumage, female in front 2) Female 3) Male

Ptarmigan, White-tailed Lagopus leucurus Found: North America
Photographed by: John Hill - Alberta Canada

Ptarmigan, Willow aka Willow Grouse Lagopus lagopus Found: North America, Europe, Asia
Photographed by: 1) Derek Ramsey 2) Joe Dsliva 3) Dick Daniels - Denali National Park

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